Mohammed Suleiman, national youth leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has stated that attempting to compare the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola’s political acumen with that of the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a political sin.
This is despite his claim that Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections, is more grounded in grassroot politics than Tinubu.
Suleiman told reporters at the weekend in Kaduna, shortly after the inauguration of Atiku United Front, North West party leaders, that Tinubu was just mingling with politicians in power and lacked a grassroot base.
He claimed that comparing Tinubu’s politics to late MKO Abiola’s is a political sin because Abiola, like Atiku, was known in every nook and cranny of the country.
However, the national youth leader assured that the PDP will win the 2023 election regardless of the APC’s incumbency advantage.
PDP will win the 2023 election because things have changed from 2015 to now because the APC government promised the people to provide security, power, good education and so many other things. But they have failed to secure the lives and property of the people. This time around ,the people have seen the political atmosphere; things have changed. So the people are solidly behind the PDP.
PDP is not afraid of incumbency factor because we were in power in 2015 and we lost the election. This time around we are coming back to take back power, and we are not afraid of incumbency. The APC government has promised fair, free and credible elections.
A research group said Tinubu will win the 2023 election, but to me, it is a mere prediction from APC people. There is no way Tinubu will win this election. He has no base in the North. We need somebody who has political influence across the country. We need somebody who will unite this country.
Those who are comparing Tinubu with late MKO Abiola are committing political sin. If you go to Zaria there is a house called Abiola house, but Tinubu is just mingling and interacting with people who are in political positions. He is not at the grassroots level of politics, Suleiman said.
He commented on thuggery at political campaign rallies in the country, “We always condemn thuggery among youths. We always advise them to stay off thuggery. And that if anybody asks you to commit thuggery, ask such person to bring out his own children too. Those who send thugs to disrupt campaigns are enemies of democracy”.
The national youth leader dismissed the efficacy of APC’s same faith presidential ticket, saying, “Muslim-Muslim ticket will not work in the North. Those using religious sentiment to get votes will see that this time around, everything will change. Nigerians are looking at somebody who has the capacity, can unite this country”.